Sunday, April 17, 2011

Their Home Port is a story that's quite special to me. In the book, Reesa Boyd starts working in the office at a marine assistance towing company and falls in love with Micah Ward, one of the tow-boat captains. Micah is very heavily based on my husband, who is a tow-boat captain with a marine assistance towing company. Like Micah, my husband works for his father and is the company's top captain. And like Reesa, I work in the company's office, though I started working there because of my relationship with hubby, rather than the other way around.

Blurb

When Reesa Boyd goes on a date with yet another Mr. Not-Quite-Right, she doesn’t expect to end the day with a job offer from the owner of Marine Tow, a marine assistance towing company.

On her first day of work, she meets Micah Ward, son of the Marine Tow owner and the company’s best captain. And the man who steals Reesa’s heart. Although the instant attraction between them catches her off-guard, she’s willing to open herself to the possibility of a relationship with him.

During a tropical storm, Marine Tow’s boats are cut loose and Micah takes off alone to recover them. Will he make it through the storm, or will Reesa lose the first man she’s truly loved?

Excerpt

During their meal, they talked about superficial things. A couple times, Reesa started to ask where Micah saw things going between them. Each time, she bit back the words before they left her mouth. Nothing would turn a guy off faster than being asked about the future. She’d learned that the hard way.

Besides, it was only their first date. Far too soon to think about what might happen between them beyond the end of the night.

After they ate, Micah paid the check, carefully hiding it from Reesa. Not that she tried too hard to see it. She knew she’d cringe if she saw how much the meal had cost, and she didn’t want to ruin the night by complaining about it.

On the walk back to her car, Micah held her hand. The warmth of his skin against hers spread throughout her body, and a little tingle began between her legs. She’d definitely gone too long without sex, if just the touch of this man’s hand made her horny.

Naturally she didn’t let on to him, though. The last thing she wanted was to rush things with him. She didn’t know what he’d think if he knew about the thoughts that flickered through her mind.

Pasting a smile on her face, she said, “That’s a great restaurant. Thanks for bringing me there.”

“You’re very welcome.” He squeezed her hand lightly. “I enjoyed it too. Maybe I’ll take you there again sometime.”

“Are we going to go on another date, then?” She bit her tongue. So much for not asking about the future. Still, he’d brought it up.

“I hope so,” he said fervently. “I really like spending time with you, Reesa. That was the best thing about the other day. I had a chance to talk to you without anyone sitting there listening.” He frowned. “It’s going to be a balancing act, though, if we’re dating and working together. We’ll have to watch how we act at work.”

“How so?” We’re dating? When did that happen?

“In the office, we have to be sort of professional and stuff.” He blushed. “It’s going to be hard to do that when I’m thinking about kissing you and running my hands over your body. Maybe you should dress a little more conservatively than you have been.”

She stuck out her tongue. “Maybe you should just keep your mind on the job.”

“That isn’t going to be easy, with you sitting there all tantalizing and stuff right across the room from me.” His hand slid over her ass, and she jumped. “You are gorgeous, you know that?”

“Thank you. Does that give you an excuse to fondle me in public?” she asked.

He took his hand away. “I’d love to take you back to my place and fondle you all over,” he said huskily. “Unfortunately, since I don’t have a place, that’s out of the question. I refuse to take a woman to my parents’ basement to get it on with her.”

Nervously, Reesa giggled. “Get it on? And you’re trying to act like you aren’t a teenage boy?”

“I didn’t think I should say ‘fuck’ in public,” he growled in her ear.

She shivered from the warmth of his breath against her skin. If only she’d had other dates with him, she would have brought him back to her place and fucked him silly. Just thinking about it, she felt his hands on her, his body pressed against hers. Her pussy tingled, and she grew moist. “Let’s go to the car, then we’ll talk,” she said hoarsely.

With a smug grin, Micah took her hand again and they walked down the sidewalk as quickly as Reesa could manage in her sandals.

As soon as they sat in her car, Micah pulled her toward him and pressed his lips roughly against hers.

The kiss was filled with lust and promise. She twined her hands in his hair and leaned into him. One of his arms wrapped around her back, and with the other hand he lightly stroked her cheek as his tongue penetrated her mouth. His touch, his smell, brought Reesa to a slow simmer as her body recognized something it had been denied for several months.

She wanted him. No question. Her body craved his touch, and her pussy tightened as though clenching around him. When he traced his hand down her face and neck to her breast, she didn’t protest. Her breath caught, and a shudder rippled through her.

Not just want. She needed him.

Bio: Karenna Colcroft is the alter ego of a shy and sedate mother/wife who started writing erotic romance in 2006 on a dare. Prior to that, she had been writing G-rated stories since age five. Karenna is published with Pink Petal Books, Ellora's Cave, Noble Romance, and Siren Publishing, and has titles upcoming with Passion in Print Press and MLR Press. You can find her at http://karennacolcroft.com, follow her tweets at http://twitter.com/#!/KarennaColcroft, or friend her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/karenna.colcroft. Karenna lives in the northeastern US with her two children, her husband, and two cats.